


Excerpts from: An Analysis of Spider-Man (B. Brant, N. Leeds)

by FlippedScript



Series: Spider-Man's New York Tour (AU) [4]
Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Elements of Fandom, Gen, Interview, Ned and Betty Don't know Peter is Spider-Man, News Media, References to AO3, Social Media
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:55:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24768100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlippedScript/pseuds/FlippedScript
Summary: HistoryFinding early references to Spider-Man’s work is difficult, because many confused his work with that of Daredevil, who is also known as the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen.However, by September of 2016, Spider-Man was clearly established as a new vigilante in New York City, thanks to a collection of photographs published in the Daily Bugle, and by a major fight between him and Dr. Curt Connors, better known as The Lizard.Excerpts from B. Brant and N. Leed's award winning article,An Analysis of Spider-Man
Relationships: Betty Brant & Ned Leeds, Jessica Jones & Peter Parker, Matt Murdock & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & New York
Series: Spider-Man's New York Tour (AU) [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1557637
Comments: 20
Kudos: 125





	Excerpts from: An Analysis of Spider-Man (B. Brant, N. Leeds)

####  **Selected Sections of “An Analysis of Spider-Man”**

_Original Publication by B. Brant, N. Leeds Originally published Nov. 6, 2022._

####  **Introduction**

Once gave Spidey a waffle  
@abebrown   
Can we talk about how Spider-Man just… is this guy in a Red and Blue Spider costume just swings around New York City and fights bad guys and we all just… let him? Give him free stuff? What a life. I wanna swing around New York and beat up dudes in metal bird costumes. 12:57 PM - 14 Sep 2019  3.4k  75.2k 

Spider-Man is a Queens-based hero/vigilante who uses some form of superhuman capabilities to fight both small crime and enhanced beings. While there exists some speculation as to which of Spider-Man’s capabilities are biologically enhanced, and which of them are results of technology. The most common belief is that Spider-Man’s speed, strength, and agility are all in some way biologically enhanced, similar to how Captain America’s was in World War II, while his webbing is a technology he has developed.

However, detractors to this theory cite that in the Miles Morales Spider-Man comics, the webbing _is_ biological, and Spider-Man has praised the Miles story to it’s similarities to his own life. Spider-Man himself has always been hesitant to share an information about his powers, a choice he has explained he makes in order to make it more difficult for people to target him.

Spider-Man, like many other vigilante/heroes in New York, has expressed frustrations with the title of Super-Hero that the city has given him. This is a common frustration among other crime fighters in his circle, including Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and both Hawkeyes. Spider-Man especially tends to imply that his doing good is more of a responsibility than anything, and rejects the notion that his heroic acts make him worthy of being a hero.

####  **Media Representation**

Sony Pictures  
@SonyPictures   
Get a behind the scenes look at our development of the new Spider-Man movie at [ https://youtu.be/pRNprbUM7k4 ](https://youtu.be/pRNprbUM7k4), and be sure to catch Ben Reilly’s adventures in theaters this Spiring! 1:15 PM - 12 Jan 2021  767  5.2k 

Spider-Man is a unique figure in media as he has granted the right to any group to use his image, with a few minor stipulations. As such, his likeness has been used in various forms of media, including the Spider-Man video game, and in multiple comics, including the Miles Morales and Ben Reilly comics, the two which Spider-Man has been most supportive of.

A common theory is that Spider-Man prefers these two comics because they both look into the life of Spider-Man’s alter ego, and point out how difficult it can be to attempt to have a normal life while also working to fight both crime and supervillains. Common tropes in representations of Spider-Man include his being flaky, being more awkward when not acting as Spider-Man, and lacking money. Spider-Man has stated that he has helped develop elements of the story for multiple forms of media, and has requested donations to charities in lieu of payment.

####  **Powers**

> r/NYCHeroes
> 
> **[LINK] Spider-Man Analysis Ep. 1: Powers (https://youtu.be/uS7fFW96BH8)**  
>  submitted 27 minutes ago by SpideysNo1Fan  
>  **7 Comments share report**

Spider-Man’s known powers include increased strength, agility, and coordination. Additionally, he has significantly above average intelligence, and can shoot an adhesive, stringlike substance referred to as webbing from his wrists. Spider-Man is also notoriously private about the true capabilities of his powers, in order to ensure that “he couldn’t be prepared for any better than people often did,” he has explained.

Reports have also alleged that Spider-Man’s powers include the ability to control spiders, determine if an individual is lying, and even fly. However, these reports are typically unsubstantiated, and Spider-Man has not commented on them. (Update, Mar. 14, 2023: In a Q&A thread on Twitter, Spider-Man started that he cannot fly, although he would like to be able to.

It is also well speculated that Spider-Man posses a healing factor, which would allow him to heal faster than typical humans. This would be consistent with Spider-Man’s ability to ensure major amounts of damage over the course of a fight, and his willingness to avoid hospital treatment.

####  **History**

> ##### 🔎 **Spider-Man**
> 
> Search **News** Images Videos Shopping
> 
> About 45,400,000 results (0.52 seconds) 
> 
> All News ▼ Recent ▼ **Sorted by Date** ▼ Hide Duplicates ▼ Clear
> 
> Comics Guru
> 
>     
> 
> **6 reasons why Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy’s relationship isn’t meant to last**
> 
> In the most recent issue of Miles Morales: Spider-Man, fans got closer than ever to finally seeing Miles and Gwen put aside their early differences and…
> 
> 3 hours ago
> 
> Buzzfeed News
> 
>     
> 
> **Strike out! Spider-Man and Luke Cage capture Lizard near Yankee Stadium**
> 
> Luke Cage and Spider-Man fought the Lizard, who escaped from the Raft, and subdued him near Yankee stadium. Check out our photos of the…
> 
> 5 hours ago
> 
> New York Post
> 
>     
> 
> **Spider-Man teams up with Luke Cage to take down the Lizard in Concourse Village**
> 
> New York’s Vigilante Spider-Man worked with Luke Cage to fight the Lizard in the early hours of the morning, after the Lizard escaped from the...
> 
> 8 hours ago

Finding early references to Spider-Man’s work is difficult, because many confused his work with that of Daredevil, who is also known as the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen.

However, by September of 2016, Spider-Man was clearly established as a new vigilante in New York City, thanks to a collection of photographs published in the Daily Bugle, and by a major fight between him and Dr. Curt Connors, better known as The Lizard.

In Winter 2016, Spider-Man was linked in partnership with Daredevil when they took down a human trafficking ring. Since then, and in large part due to his willingness to interact with New Yorkers during the day time, Spider-Man quickly became a fixture of New York culture.

In the six years that have followed, Spider-Man has been involved in dozens of incidents with ‘Super-Villains’ (you can see a full list of known encounters here), and has been listed as a key witness in nearly a hundred court cases, particularly those related to human trafficking, domestic abuse, and rape.

Spider-Man’s willingness to work with law enforcement has earned him the support of the Police Department, a sharp contrast to the relationship many of his peers have to them.

**Politics and Personal Life**

Spider-Man 🕷🕸  
@nycwebslinger   
Please remember to vote if you can in the upcoming election, and to do so with kindness in your hearts. No, I won’t tell you how to vote. Do your own research, it’s how democracy functions. 4:27 AM - 2 Nov 2016  5k  115k 

Spider-Man typically tries to stay out of politics, and is (at least publicly) apolitical on many issues, instead pushes those in his community to “vote… with kindness”.

That said, Spider-Man is vocal on a number of issues, including educational and anti-bullying initiatives. He has also been active as a mediator at multiple protests, leveraging his status as an individual that nearly all New Yorkers respect to keep the peace.

Spider-Man is openly bisexual, and has often been found at Pride parades. He has started that he is single, but not looking for a relationship. Many theorists believe that this is a lie, and that he is simply trying to keep his loved ones safe, a conclusion that, while consistent with Spider-Man’s views on his secret identity, is not backed by any facts.

**Vigilante Allies**

NYC For Spider-Man 🗽🕸  
@officialspiderfanclub   
Check out a collection of footage of Spider-Man interacting with other New York Vigilantes! <https://youtu.be/m8_mo76Gpqs> 2:42 PM - 2 Nov 2021  2.1k  5.8k 

Spider-Man’s best known allies are Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Hawkeye. Spider-Man reportedly spends the most time working with Daredevil and Hawkeye, but the majority of his public work is done with Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, due to their lack of secret identities. It has been established that Spider-Man and at least one of his Vigilante allies use burner phones to communicate, as public security camera footage by Times Square showed Spider-Man sending a text just before engaging with a villain, and Jessica Jones arrived shortly after, carrying with her a similar model StarkPhone.

This system of communication is likely how New York’s Vigilantes communicate with one another as it is safe, convenient, and secure. In less public-facing situations, Spider-Man seems to prefer working with Hawkeye and/or Daredevil, although it is rare for more than a pair of Vigilantes to work together.

Historically, Spider-Man has been closest to Daredevil, and many believe that the two are friends, and train together. This is supported primarily by witness statements from individuals who were saved by Spider-Man and Daredevil working together, who consistently made statements indicated that the pair seemed to know what the other was thinking. More than one report also states that Daredevil gave advice to Spider-Man after they had finished their fight, as a teacher might. However, it is unknown whether Daredevil is aware of Spider-Man’s identity, or vice versa.

**Spider-Man’s Identity (Speculation)**

Spider-Man knows my name  
@flashthompson_yt   
Check out my new video in which I examine Spider-Man’s identity at [https://youtu.be/nx_IyLT3VSM](https://youtu.be/nx_IyLT3VSM) ! 6:16 PM - 6 Jul 2018  2.3k  301 

Very little demographic information is known about Spider-Man - he appears to be a caucasian man who is between the ages of twenty and forty-five, but his mask makes it difficult to tell his exact age. However, instances where Spider-Man ate food with part of his mask pulled up confirms that he is white, and almost certainly male. Spider-Man is estimated to be about 5’10”, and less than 200 lbs. Armed with that demographic information and the fact that Spider-Man claims he is from Queens, there are about 40,000 potential individuals who could be Spider-Man.

> There are 2.258m people in Queens * ~1/2 people are male identifying * 1/10 grown men are within an inch in height to 5'10 * 36/100 people are the right age demographic, based on rough estimates. **Because of this, no one has been able to identify Spider-Man with any type of brute force approach, and instead speculation about Spider-Man’s identity tends to be based on unique capabilities of Spider-Man and potential suspects.**

Because of this, theories about the identity of Spider-Man tend to assume that Spider-Man is in some way a public figure, as the alternative makes finding him too complex. Common theories that have since been disproven include Franklin Nelson, a notable Lawyer who has worked with many vigilantes and Tony Stark, CTO of Stark Industries and noted Spider-Man super-fan. Nelson and Stark are both on the older side of Spider-Man’s expected age, and had professions that allowed them a large amount of free time which could be used to handle situation that required Spider-Man’s attention. Both of these candidates fall within the age/race/size expectations.

However, following Tony Stark’s assassination attempt by Obadiah Stane, which left him paralyzed from the waist down, it became clear that Stark was in fact not Spider-Man. Similarly, Nelson has been practicing law in trials and was on record as present during times when Spider-Manwas seen fighting various villains. There have been a number of other theories proposed, even that J. Jonah Jameson, Editor in Chief of the Daily Bugle is Spider-Man, but nearly all of them have been disproven.

Despite New York’s clear desire to learn the identity of Spider-man, it is perhaps best that his identity remains unknown to the greater public. As has been explained by popular reddit user _u/BannersEighthPHD_ (who is most likely not physicist Bruce Banner), who posts essay-length discussions of the merit of maintaining a secret identity that could perhaps earn a PHD on their own. These posts outline that maintaining a secret identity allows Spider-Man and anonymous heroes like him to keep their friends, family, and loved ones safe, while still being able to use their powers for the greater good.

One clue that point to Spider-Man’s identity that can be gleaned from these posts is their reference to the eight degrees of giving, a Jewish ideology that discusses varying levels of charity. By giving in a way that the recipient does not know the giver, Spider-Man can achieve a greater mitzvah, or personal blessing, than he would be able to were his identity known. While these concepts exist in other faiths as well, _u/BannersEighthPHD_ ’s choice to mention the Tzedakah may imply that either Spider-Man, u/BannersEighthPHD, or both may be Jewish.

For the reasons laid out above, this article will not propose any independent concepts as to the identity of Spider-Man.

**Interpersonal Relationships**

> 1 - 20 of 13727 Works in [Spider-Man & Daredevil](https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Matt%20Murdock%20*a*%20Peter%20Parker/works)
> 
> [i already know your order (but i want to know everything else, too)](https://pastebin.com/raw/YCDi3tAs) by [spideydevil101](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D)
> 
> [New York Heroes RPF](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D)
> 
> **[Graphic Depictions of Violence](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D)** , [Daredevil/Spider-Man](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D), [Daredevil & Spider-Man](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D), [Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D), [Or maybe this is our universe](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D), [Because Listen they both definitely love Coffee](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D), [They’re insomniacs](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D) [Slow Burn](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D), [Slight Age Difference](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D), [Seriously this is a Slowwww Burn](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D), [Implied Sexual Content](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D), [Fluff](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D), [Fixing Each Other’s Injuries](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D), [Identity Reveal](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D), [Secret Identity](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D)
> 
> The only person who seems like to like Coffee more than Daredevil is the nerdy college kid who keeps coming into his coffee shop as soon as it opens, and even then it might be a close one. Well, at least the guy’s cute.
> 
> Language: English Words: 134,616 Chapters: [34](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D)/? Comments: [1021](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D) Kudos: [12034](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D) Bookmarks: [7654](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D) Hits: [206783](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D)
> 
> [Hero Spotter](https://pastebin.com/raw/YCDi3tAs) by [daddevilfan12](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D)
> 
> [New York Heroes RPF](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D)
> 
> **[Graphic Depictions of Violence](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D)** , [Daredevil & Spider-Man](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D), [Found Family](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D), [Dad Devil](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D), [They’re insomniacs](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D) [Fluff](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D), [Misunderstandings](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D), [Secret Identity](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D) [Identity Reveal](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D)
> 
> At first, Daredevil thought that the crazy kid in the Red jumpsuit was another hero spotter. He turned out to be so much more.
> 
> Language: English Words: 6,162 Chapters: [4](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D)/4 Comments: [75](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D) Kudos: [5654](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D) Bookmarks: [314](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D) Hits: [51636](%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9D)

Spider-Man is known to be closer to Daredevil than to his other Vigilante allies, a relationship that is “like a student/teacher relationship, but closer to that of friends”, Spider-Man once answered in a twitter Q&A. However, there has been no indication that the two are in a romantic relationship, or that Daredevil is even interested in men.

Spider-Man’s other interpersonal relationships are difficult to get information on, due to his secret identity, and his personal desire for privacy. From a collection of Q&A’s and interviews, however, a decent amount of information is generally agreed upon. Spider-Man had at least one guardian die when he was a child, and he consistently refuses to clarify his relationship with said guardian (source: multiple, including a reddit AMA). As of May 2020, said guardian was not aware of his identity, at least to Spider-Man’s knowledge (source: interview).

Based on his tweets, Spider-Man knows of the identity of at least one fellow vigilante, and has described it as “ironic”. Spider-Man gets along best with Daredevil and Jessica Jones, but poorly with Hawkeye, with whom he often bickers. It is of note that Hawkeye has been described as both male and female, so the few quotes regarding them may be misquotes, or Hawkeye may be genderfluid.

It is known that Spider-Man took classes during at least the beginning of his career, and his relationships with his professors were “complicated” (source: Audio from YouTube videos of Spider-Man fights between 2019 and 2021, where Spider-Man mentioned professors, though not by name). At least one adversary of Spider-Man’s is believed to know his identity, though the sources are questionable at best (source: anonymous reddit accounts). These sources refused to give information about their identity, or that of Spider-Man.

Spider-Man has shown preference to work with certain cops in different regions, including Brett Mahoney and Jean DeWolff. He has also shown a preference to Stark Industries products, especially their phones, and has explained that their privacy features mean a lot to him due to his secret identity.

  
  


_These excerpts were last Updated (Digital form of publication only) Jun. 12, 2024._

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed, and that this gives at least a little more insight into what's going on in this universe. At least a few of the characters mentioned here are prominent in my long term plans for this AU, including one hero that Ned and Betty didn't quite understand an aspect of. 
> 
> A lot of these links do go places, and I strongly recommend the content you'll find. 
> 
> A huge thank you to the authors of https://archiveofourown.org/works/15664164 and  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/5191202, both of which helped me a lot with formatting this fic. 
> 
> A huge shoutout goes to aloneintherain's incredible series [see it all in bloom](https://archiveofourown.org/series/930909), which inspired me to mix media and prose like this. 
> 
> Comments and Kudos mean a lot, as always.


End file.
